


figuring out the cost of being true to ourselves

by isolationqueen (bisousniall)



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Cheating, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Modern AU, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:47:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28257162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisousniall/pseuds/isolationqueen
Summary: Merlin rolls his eyes before interrupting. “I know we’re not dating, but he doesn’t know that, his fiancee doesn’t know that, no one at his wedding will probably know that.”Merlin and Arthur meet when they're both being cheated on by the same guy. A fake dating AU with a twist.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 311
Collections: Round Table Gift Exchange 2020





	figuring out the cost of being true to ourselves

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mythmaker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mythmaker/gifts).



> Thanks to my betas, and to Mythmaker I really hope you enjoy the fic! Happy Holidays! And sorry to Mordred. He comes out really bad in this, but I just needed a villain and he happened to fit.

Arthur’s stomach is in knots as he rushes down the street. He can hardly even remember how he got here, he likely got onto the tube from pure muscle memory. He’s been to the restaurant Percy works at countless times so he hardly has to think about it, which is lucky considering his mind is miles away. He opens the text again.

_Mordred 4:17pm  
Hey babe! I can’t tonight, I’ve picked up an extra shift. See you tomorrow though xx_

Arthur feels his anger flare up, like fanning the flames of a fire. 

_Fucking liar._

Arthur had been finishing up his dinner (takeaway curry) when he’d gotten the text from Percy.

_Percy 6:37pm  
I don’t want to make a big deal out of nothing, but Mordred just came into the restaurant with some guy...it kind of looks like they’re on a date?_

_Arthur 6:40pm  
He told me he was at work???_

_Percy 6:43pm  
He’s definitely here on a date, he just kissed this bloke on the cheek._

Arthur didn’t stop to think after that, he leapt to his feet, grabbed his jacket, and rushed out the door. 

He has no plan, he realizes as he sees the sign for the restaurant on the next block. _What is he even going to say?_ He can feel his determination waning as he reaches the glass double front doors. Maybe he should have just broken up with him quietly instead of confronting him at a restaurant. In public. All of his righteous anger floods back when he steps into the front foyer and has a direct eyeline for Mordred feeding this guy a bite of his food, and using his thumb to wipe his lower lip. The guy flushes and laughs. Arthur sees red.

He marches forward, ignoring the questions from the maître d’. He stops next to Mordred’s table, and watches as Mordred’s eyes leave his date, and focus on Arthur. It takes a couple seconds for the realization to set in.

“Arthur!” He exclaims, with a jump of shock.

“Is this part of your job now? I can’t really see how taking twinks out to dinner fits in with working at a library, but I’m willing to be convinced.”

“Excuse me,” the date interrupts. “I’m not a twink, I’m a twunk, and who the hell are you?”

“I’m Mordred’s boyfriend!” Arthur yells. He’s sure everyone in the restaurant is staring, and he’s only vaguely aware that the maître d’ is standing next to him, probably wondering what the hell he should be doing in this situation. 

“Arthur, please,” Mordred says quietly. Arthur can hardly hear him over the roaring in his ears. “You’re causing a scene.”

“Well then, maybe you shouldn’t have cheated on me in a restaurant where my friend works!” 

Mordred drops his face into his hands.

“You forgot, didn’t you? Or maybe you just don’t ever listen to me in the first place. We’re done, if you couldn’t tell.” Arthur turns back to the date. He’s staring up at Arthur in shock. “You can definitely do better, mate.”

Arthur turns on his heels, the maître d’ looks like he’s about to say something, but Arthur silences him with an outstretched palm. 

“It’s fine, I’m leaving.”

As Arthur begins the journey back to his flat, so many weird things about Mordred and their relationship suddenly make sense. How he wouldn’t set his status as “in a relationship” on Facebook even though they’d been together for six months. How he hated public displays of affection, and he never wanted to be in photos with Arthur. He also hated when Arthur would try to surprise him at his work, or even at his home. Arthur learned his lesson the one time he showed up at the library with lunch even though Mordred told him he’d forgotten his at home. He was met with confusion and poorly hidden anger, rather than surprise and thankfulness. 

His thoughts wander to the other guy. He thought he would feel anger towards him, but weirdly enough he doesn’t. He feels...bad for him, almost. He wonders if Mordred had been playing him just as he’d been playing Arthur. He wonders how long they’d been seeing each other, and if he thought they were exclusive just as Arthur thought they had been.

He’s not going into work the next day, he’s decided, so when he gets back to his flat, he pours himself more than two fingers of whiskey, puts on some shit tele, and wallows on the couch. 

* 

Arthur wakes the next morning still on his couch, head pounding, mouth drier than the Sahara, full of regret and sadness. Not necessarily over the loss of Mordred, of that he could still feel only anger, but of his own foolishness. He checks his phone, but it had died sometime in the night. It takes a lot of effort to haul his body up from the couch, but somehow he manages. He plugs his phone in, and then heads into the bathroom for a quick shower.

After the shower, he feels physically much better, but still mentally bruised. He checks his phone again, which had powered on while he showered. He sees he has messages from Percy, which is fair, but also messages from several other friends of his. It’s possible Percy had already let slip what happened. Arthur was not ready for that. He had really, really _liked_ Mordred. Maybe he didn’t quite love him yet, but he probably could have gotten there eventually. He wasn’t perfect, but what partner was? Arthur certainly could have made it work, and Mordred was funny, and nice, and got along with Morgana which made Arthur’s stomach drop.

Morgana. Fuck. Morgana loved Mordred, and Arthur would have to break the news to her eventually. He wasn’t ready for these conversations at all, not willing to bare his broken heart to all of his family and friends, so he decided ignoring it all for a little while longer couldn’t hurt. 

He was just about to close his phone when he noticed he had a Facebook messenger message request. He opened the app. It was from someone named Merlin Wyllt. He looked at the tiny icon photo. Didn’t look familiar. Arthur opened the message.

_Hey, um. This is awkward, I don’t really know how to start it. I’m Merlin, I was the guy with, well. I was on a date with who I thought was my boyfriend who definitely is not my boyfriend anymore, and well, I think he was your boyfriend too. Ex-boyfriend. I just wanted you to know I had no idea he was seeing someone else. I don’t really know why I felt the need to message you, I guess I just hated the thought of someone out there hating me for something I would never, ever be part of willingly. I remembered he called you Arthur, so I found you on his Facebook page, right before I deleted him. Wanker._

_It’s ok if you ignore this, I understand. It’s a really weird situation, I just wanted to reach out._

_I’m so sorry._

_Merlin_

Arthur’s first thought, strangely, was relief. Somehow it would have been a million times worse if the dude, Merlin, had known Mordred was a cheating bastard, and decided to stay with him regardless. He appreciated knowing Merlin had no idea. He accepted the message.

**I appreciate you reaching out, Merlin. What a wanker, eh?**

Arthur put his phone down and went back to his bedroom to get dressed. By the time he got back out, Merlin had already replied to his message.

_Oh thank God, I was so worried you hated my guts. If it makes you feel any better, I threw my glass of water in his face before I stormed out of the restaurant._

Arthur laughs. 

**Am I a bad person if I say that does make me feel better?**

Arthur watches Merlin’s typing bubble.

_Nah, it felt amazing. He deserves much worse than that._

Maybe it’s the hangover, or the giddy lessening of grief he feels in his stomach, but he decides to throw caution to the wind.

**Not to make this even weirder, but how do you feel about an afternoon pint today?**

_I’d love it._

* 

Merlin is handsome, Arthur realizes once he’s had more of a chance to study his face. He sort of looks vaguely like Mordred (Arthur has a type, he’d never deny it) with more angles and a kinder smile. He’s funny, and warm, and sweet, and lots of things that Arthur is not and it makes something sour twist in his belly. Not towards Merlin, it’s not Merlin’s fault Mordred couldn’t be a proper adult and just break things off with Arthur if he wasn’t happy. But he feels it nonetheless. 

They talk pleasantries for a while, Merlin sipping at his Guinness, Arthur at his Carlsberg. Turns out Merlin is a history student, working on his Masters. He grew up in a small village in Wales, but has been in London for ages and hardly even has a Welsh accent anymore. Arthur laughs a lot more than he was expecting to. Finally, after their respective pints are nearly drained, it’s Merlin who is brave enough to broach the topic.

“So, how long were you and Mordred together?”

“Six months. He was a friend of a coworker. She brought him to our work Christmas party, and we really hit it off. Our first date was New Years Eve.”

“Only three months, for us. I used to go to the library where he works. They have a huge history section. I guess I really am the other man, huh?”

“Merlin, I don’t blame you for this, at all. How could you have known, and he was also betraying your trust.”

Merlin shrugs. “I still feel terrible about it. This is going to sound stupid, but I kept thinking about how handsome you are and I couldn’t believe he would cheat on someone so beautiful.”

“Jay-Z cheated on Beyonce and she’s the most beautiful woman in the world.” Arthur points out.

Merlin looks confused for about two seconds before he bursts out laughing. 

“I’m just saying,” Arthur continues. “I’m pretty firmly gay, but I don’t think I could say no to Beyonce.”

“I’m bi, and I know I couldn’t say no to Beyonce,” Merlin says, draining the last of his pint after.

“I guess what I mean is that, him cheating isn’t about my looks or your looks, it’s about some sort of failing, either on my part to keep him interested, or maybe there’s just something wrong with him.”

Merlin’s hand flies across the pub table to grasp at Arthur’s. “It’s not your job to keep him interested, if he cheated on you that’s definitely his failing, not yours.”

Arthur feels his face warm up under Merlin’s intense gaze. He uses his free hand to finish up his pint.

“Can you stay for one more?” Arthur asks.

Merlin smiles. “I’d like that.”

* 

It’s weird, how easily they fit into each other’s lives. Merlin ends up studying at a cafe near Arthur’s work, and Arthur frequently joins him there for his lunch break. On paper, it would seem like him and Merlin would be much too different to ever get along, but they do. Like a house on fire. They seemingly never run out of topics to discuss, and it all feels too perfect. Soon, Merlin comes to his regular Saturday pub nights with his mates, and is a frequent guest at Sunday roast. Eventually he starts bringing around his mate Gwaine, and it feels weirdly like the final puzzle piece slotting into place. Morgana loves Merlin, all his mates love Merlin (possibly more than they love Arthur) and his father, well. He’s never been a good judge of character, anyways. 

What was once a source of great embarrassment for Arthur is now a hilarious story to tell.

_How did you and Merlin meet?_

_Well, see the same guy was cheating on both of us with each other, and I confronted him when they were at a restaurant together._

It was one hell of a first impression. 

It felt natural, when the time came around, for Arthur to invite Merlin to the annual work Christmas party. He tried not to think about how this was where he had met Mordred almost exactly a year earlier. But Merlin cleaned up nice, in a rented tux and a burgundy tie and pocket square that matched Arthur’s own. His natural charm more than made up for his lack of formal manners, and the free-flowing champagne made him loose enough that Arthur had had to rescue him no less than three times from men and women alike who looked like they wanted to eat him alive. 

“Maybe ease up on the flirting, eh?” Arthur murmurs in Merlin’s ear, as he steers him away from a woman in accounting who is at least 15 years his senior.

“It’s not flirting, Arthur, just being polite. You should try it sometime.”

“Alright, Casanova, you’re meant to be my date, you know, and I wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong impression.”

“Aw,” Merlin leans over and plants a kiss on Arthur’s cheek. It’s wet, and a bit loud, but it makes Arthur flush all the same. “You’re definitely the prettiest person here.”

Christmas turns to New Years, and as some of the only singles in their group of friends, Merlin ends up being his New Years kiss. It’s just a quick peck on the lips between the two, but it makes Arthur feel warm in a way he’s not sure he can blame on alcohol. Around one in the morning, they’re leaving Morgana’s when Arthur gets the first of what will be many texts. 

Arthur snorts in disbelief before showing it to Merlin.

_Mordred 1:05 am  
its the one year anniversary of our first date, babe. i miss you. i’d like to talk to you again. please call me._

Merlin rolls his eyes “Fucking creep. Just ignore it. He’s probably drunk.”

Only they keep coming, at random times. Then Merlin starts receiving them. Arthur gets a text message of a screenshot from Merlin sometime in February along with an eyeroll emoji.

_Mordred 3:11 pm  
merlin, its mordred, i’ve been thinking about you lately. wish you’d give me a chance to explain what happened_

Arthur responds with a string of his own eye rolling emojis.

_Arthur 3:27 pm  
I suppose we should have seen this coming_

What neither of them could have possibly seen coming was the random Friday in April in which they both received a similar letter in the mail. Arthur had just gotten home from work, and was eager to take a shower so he could meet Merlin at the pub and begin his weekend. He picked up the mail from his mailbox and tossed it on the counter. It was only by chance he happened to glance at one of the envelopes as it slid over his countertop. 

_Mordred Lake & Kara Dune_

“What the fuck?” Arthur says out loud, in his empty flat. He immediately reaches for his phone, he’s about to find Merlin’s number in his recent call list, but suddenly his phone vibrates and a silly photo of Merlin fills the screen of his phone. He answers it.

“You are never going to guess what I just got in the mail,” Merlin says as Arthur answers, not even giving Arthur a chance to greet him.

“If it’s the same thing I just got in the mail, then yeah I have some idea.”

“What the hell is he playing at?”

Arthur puts the phone on speaker and sets it down on the counter. 

“I haven’t even gotten a chance to open it.” Arthur begins fiddling with the edges of the envelope with his fingernails.

“And who the fuck is Kara Dune?”

“No clue.”

Arthur fiddles with the envelope until he’s finally split it open, and he’s able to pull out the dainty page inside.

“Is this a-”

“A fucking wedding invitation!” Merlin finishes Arthur’s thought.

“How...we broke up six months ago. How is this even possible? Why would he even feel the need to invite us?”

“You know how he is, it’s the same reason he’s been texting us trying to sort things out,” Merlin was rolling his eyes, Arthur knew that tone. “He probably can’t stand the fact that there’s people out there who hate him.”

“Should have thought about that before he fucking cheated on me. On both of us.”

Merlin hums in agreement. “I almost feel sorry for her.”

“I’m throwing it out,” Arthur concludes, glowering down at the offending invite. “Pub?”

“Yeah, I need to shower. Be there in an hour.”

Arthur takes one more opportunity to scan the invite, his eyes narrowing and his lips pushing out into a pout when he sees the “Arthur Pendragon and plus one” on the invite. Fucking asshole.

* 

Apparently, the only defence mechanism Arthur had against cheating wankers was getting rat arsed. At least this time he wasn’t alone, even though he was the only one getting embarrassingly drunk. Merlin had to work the next morning, just a short shift at the coffee shop he worked at part time while he finished his thesis. For Arthur, one pint turned into two, turned to three, then into whiskey on the rocks. 

“Is there something wrong with me?” Arthur asks, his tongue is clunky in his mouth and he knows he’s slurring but his brain is swimming in drink, and he can’t force himself to concentrate on getting the words out properly.

“You mean other than you being shit faced?” Merlin asks with a grin, then taking a sip of his second Guinness of the night.

“I mean that, Mordred is a cheating bastard, and I know that, and I don’t even have any sort of positive feelings towards him anymore, but-”

“He’s still able to make you feel like shit?” 

Arthur can feel his bottom lip wobble. “How is it even possible? The worst part is that he gave me the option of a plus one and I don’t even have one. He’s getting married and I don’t even have a plus one.” Arthur drops his head. He needs to cry, or drink more, or _something_ , but what he definitely does not need is to see Merlin’s wide eyes full of sympathy.

If he had looked up, he would not have seen sympathy in Merlin’s eyes, but more a twinkle of an idea forming in his mind. 

“I...have a crazy idea.”

Arthur whipped his head up.

“What do you mean?”

“What if, you go to the wedding, and you do have a plus one?”

“I don’t understand, I’m not dating anyone.” Arthur is way too drunk to keep up with any conversation at all, really, but especially this one.

“We can go together!” Merlin says excitedly. 

“But I’m not-”

“Like, as a couple.”

“But we’re not-”

Merlin rolls his eyes before interrupting. “I know we’re not dating, but he doesn’t know that, his fiancee doesn’t know that, no one at his wedding will probably know that.”

Arthur’s brain feels like scrambled eggs as he tries to sort out Merlin’s logic.

“Are you really saying we should pretend to be together to go to our ex-boyfriend’s wedding. I am very drunk, and that sounds like a ridiculous idea.”

“No, it’s a fantastic idea, we’re already best friends, how hard will it be to act like a couple for a day-”

“A weekend, at least. They’re getting married on the south coast, didn’t you read the invite?”

“Err, not really. Fine, a weekend. It’s still only two days. We can show up, be grossly in love with each other, and prove to Mordred once and for all that we are completely over him.”

Arthur isn’t sure if it’s because he’s drunk or what, but suddenly the thought is making a whole lot of sense. He’s attracted to Merlin, he knows that. He could easily see himself dating Merlin. So what would be the harm in pretending for a weekend? Just so Mordred can see neither of them are pining or lonely without him.

“You know what? Let’s do it.”

“Ok, hold on,” Merlin says, digging into his pocket and retrieving his phone. “Say it into the camera, I don’t want you backing out of this when you’re sober.”

* 

The next morning, Arthur wakes up in his bed with a vague recollection of Merlin taking him home, stripping him down, and shoving him into bed. There’s water and paracetamol on his bedside table, and his phone is there in one piece as well. Not a bad way to wake up after getting pissed, besides the raging headache. He picks up his phone and opens the text from Merlin, no doubt rubbing it in that he’s hungover, and Merlin is likely bright eyed and bushy tailed at work.

_Merlin 7:27am  
Hey boyfriend. Hope the hangovers not too bad. Meet me at the cafe for lunch?_

Boyfriend? 

_Arthur 9:41am  
Boyfriend??????????_

He sends in reply. It must be slow at the cafe because Arthur gets a quick response. 

_Merlin 9:45am  
I knew you wouldn’t remember. _

A couple seconds later a video comes through. It’s Arthur, at the pub, smiling his drunk smile and not doing a very good job of focusing on the camera.

“I, Arthur Pendragon,” drunk Arthur slurs. “Promise that I will accompany Merlin Wyltt to Mordred’s wedding.”

“As his date,” Merlin says off camera. 

“As his date,” Arthur parrots. 

The video ends. 

_Arthur 9:51am_  
_WTF????_

_Merlin 9:53am_  
_A promise is a promise, boyfriend._

It all comes back to Arthur now, all the reasons he gave himself for it being a good idea now seem like reasons why it’s a terrible idea. Arthur really, really likes Merlin, and they haven’t known each other for that long but he’s definitely the best friend Arthur has ever had, and he is terrified of fucking it up. If there’s one thing Arthur excels at, its fucking up good relationships or getting into bad ones. He can not afford to lose Merlin. 

_Arthur 9:54am_  
_Is there no way of talking you out of this?_

_Merlin 9:55am  
Absolutely not xx_

* 

The months pass quickly. Work is busy, Merlin gets extremely caught up in working on his thesis so he can take time off to go to the wedding. Before Arthur’s even had a chance to blink, it’s the Friday afternoon before the wedding and Arthur is sitting in his car outside Merlin’s place, waiting for him to come out so they can start the drive to Dover. Merlin suddenly appears in a flurry of activity, dragging a small suitcase and holding a suit bag over his shoulder. Arthur steps out of his car to help him. 

“Oh, my knight in shining armour,” Merlin says with a fake swoon as Arthur comes to take his luggage from him. 

“Oh, do shut up,” he says, but his flush is likely giving him away. Merlin just laughs and smacks a messy kiss to his cheek. This weekend is going to _kill him_. 

* 

They’re about half way on their two hour drive to Dover when Merlin finally broaches the topic. 

“So, I guess we should come up with, like, a backstory for our relationship.” 

Arthur thinks on it for a few seconds before replying. “Why don’t we just use the real story of how we became friends? I’m not really interested in lying to make Mordred seem like a better person than he is.” 

“Alright, savage Pendragon. So, we met because Mordred cheated on both of us, and then we started dating, when?” 

“I invited you to the Christmas work party. We got drunk, and we kissed. Things progressed from there, now we’re together.” Arthur didn’t have to lie much, but he knew it was easiest to keep it as close to the truth as possible. 

“And how often do we fuck?” 

“Jesus, Merlin,” Arthur would have facepalmed had he not also been driving. 

“What? I’m just trying to create some sense of intimacy here.” 

“I don’t know, a couple times a week?” 

Arthur glances over in time to see Merlin’s face morph into some expression that is both incredulous and insulted. 

“A couple times a week? I’d have you at least once a day. Maybe not full on penetration, but I’d suck you off. A handjob at the absolute very least.” 

“Alright, fine. We’re a pair of regular nymphos. We’ll probably sneak to the loo during the reception for a cheeky shag.” 

“And don’t you forget it.” 

* 

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Arthur doesn’t yell, but it’s a close thing. 

They’d gotten to Dover, and found the hotel they’d be staying in for two nights for the wedding. It was super close to the venue, and there was a wedding guest discount. Merlin and Arthur had booked a 2 Queen room. Or so Arthur had thought. 

“Sir, please, there’s no need to shout,” the receptionist says, looking frantically at his screen, wildly clicking buttons and typing. 

“We booked a 2 Queen room!” Arthur insists. 

“Arthur, it’s fine, we can share. We’re adults,” Merlin then turns to address the harried receptionist. “It’s fine, sir, we will take the single Queen.” 

“Unbelievable,” Arthur mutters. “It’s like we’re in a terrible rom com.” 

“Watching a lot of rom coms are we, Arthur?” 

“Shut up, lets go.” 

Arthur watches as Merlin smiles at the front desk receptionist, always charming and borderline flirty in a way Arthur figured only Merlin could get away with, which he loved and hated in equal measure. 

They walk through the lobby in silence, through the hall towards the elevator. They’re on the twentieth floor, seafront view. The view is so gorgeous, Arthur briefly forgets about the single bed situation. He takes his gaze away from the sea and looks over to the bed. It doesn’t look that small. Surely they’d be fine. 

“It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” Merlin says, gazing out the window. Arthur glances over at Merlin, his eyes as blue as the water he looks out at, the sun catching his cheekbones and creating a dramatic effect on his face, his dark hair messy and curling around his ears and neck, his expression serene and content. 

“Breathtaking,” Arthur replies. 

* 

“Are you ready, then?” Merlin asks, as he ties his tie in the mirror, messily trying to create the loops. Arthur rolls his eyes and tugs the tie out of his hands, bodily turning Merlin to face him. 

“Let me do that,” Arthur says. “And I’ve been ready for ages, I’ve been waiting on you.” 

“I know that, I mean ready to debut me as your boyfriend.” 

There is a social mixer, a sort of pre-wedding party happening at the hotel bar that they are already several minutes late for. Arthur has gotten an insight as to why Merlin is usually late to meet up as he watches him casually and unhurriedly move about the hotel room, getting ready as if they have all the time in the world. 

“Of course,” Arthur replies as he mindlessly creates a tight half-Windsor. 

“We’ll have to hold hands. Maybe even kiss. Are you prepared to do that?” 

Looking back, Arthur won’t be able to pinpoint why he thought it was a good idea, but. He has Merlin’s tie in his hand, still, and Merlin has been poking fun at him for _far_ too long. It takes hardly any effort to pull Merlin in by the tie for a kiss. Somewhat annoyingly, Merlin doesn't flounder or even seem shocked. He rolls with it far too easily, wrapping one arm around Arthur’s waist, the other going to his chin. It doesn't go beyond a firm press of the lips, Arthur can’t allow it to go any further. Arthur pulls back slowly. Merlin grins up at him. 

“Mr. Pendragon, I didn’t know you had it in you,” Merlin says with a cheeky wink. 

“Oh my god, you are ridiculous. Let’s go feed ourselves to the wolves, then.” 

They make their way down to the lobby, arm in arm. Arthur, against his better judgement, is almost excited. He feels like this will provide a lot of closure between him and Mordred. Not to mention Merlin is a great date, if only he could stop flirting with half the party. He is handsome, polite, and a genuinely good conversationalist. 

“Ready?” Merlin murmurs as they enter the hotel bar. 

They don’t know anyone else at this party, and they catch a few glances before Mordred finally looks over from where he’s seated next to a girl with dirty blond hair. Arthur watches the changing expressions on his face before he stands up to come greet them. 

“Arthur! I didn’t think you’d actually-Merlin? I thought you said you weren’t coming?” 

Arthur takes a deep breath. No turning back now. 

“Well, you gave me a plus one, and that’s what he is to me now. My plus one.” 

He hears Merlin snort, and then uses his free hand to clap Arthur on the shoulder. 

“He means we’re dating. Arthur is my boyfriend now.” 

The way Mordred’s face drops is almost worth all the weird shit Arthur has had to go through to get here. 

“Did you guys meet because of-“ 

“Yes!” Merlin confirms. “I’ve actually been meaning to thank you. Without you, we’d never have met.” 

Mordred looks extremely uncomfortable for several moments before he comes back to himself. 

“Come with me, I’ll introduce you to everyone.” 

The party is...awkward. No one knows Merlin or Arthur because Mordred kept his family and friends separate from his partners (or, at least he did when he was cheating on them) so they mostly sit awkwardly, getting progressively drunker and mainly just talking to each other. That is, until they’re finally approached by an older woman who introduces herself as Kara’s aunt. 

“So how do you know the bride and groom?” She asks. 

Arthur hesitates. He almost considers lying for a brief moment, but before he can answer, Merlin is speaking. 

“Funny story! Mordred was cheating on both of us with each other! That’s how Arthur and I met. I think we’re a better fit for each other, isn’t that right, babe?” Merlin lays it on thick, wrapping an arm around Arthur’s shoulder and nuzzling into his side. 

Arthur feels the sudden need to be much drunker. He glances up at the aunt who looks, well, _miffed_ is the only word coming to mind. Merlin is smiling up at her sweetly and obliviously. She makes some excuse to leave, something about needing another drink, before turning on her heels and walking away. 

“Jesus, Merlin,” Arthur says with a huffed laugh. 

“You’re the one who said you didn’t want to hide it.” 

“I know, but I think you might have ruined her night.” 

Merlin laughs at that, a bit over the top. Plus he keeps glancing over Arthur’s shoulder. 

“Mordred is looking at us,” Merlin leans in to whisper. “I’m gonna kiss you, don’t freak out.” 

It’s the only warning Arthur gets before Merlin leans in and plants his lips on Arthur’s. This time, Merlin grips Arthur’s tie, and Arthur gets a hand on the back of Merlin’s head. He’s not sure if it’s the alcohol or the general weirdness of the situation, but the kiss feels so good, Arthur doesn’t want it to stop. When Merlin pulls back with a bite to Arthur’s lower lip, Arthur hauls him back in with the hand on the back of his head. This time their tongues meet and Arthur feels a full body shiver, and an immediate need to grip Merlin close. He finds Merlin’s free hand with his free hand and grasps it tight. Their tongues twist and twine and Arthur can taste the bitterness of the stout in Merlin's mouth but he doesn’t even care, he just doesn’t want this to stop. 

“Ahem, lads.” 

Merlin pulls away first, Arthur slowly becomes aware Mordred is standing by their table, looking down at them. 

“You’re making quite a scene,” he says, coldly. 

“You know how Merlin is,” Arthur replies. He looks back at Merlin, and thumbs away a bit of spit at the corner of his mouth. He feels shivery all over at the thought of it being his spit. “Incorrigible,” Arthur finishes with a grin. 

“I don’t understand how this happened,” Mordred says. 

“You invited us,” Merlin replies. 

“No, I mean. How did you two meet. Become a thing.” 

They were still holding hands. Merlin gave his a squeeze before running a thumb soothingly over his knuckles in a repeated motion. 

“I reached out,” Merlin says. “After the scene in the restaurant, I felt bad. And he responded. We started out just as friends, but then he invited me to his work Christmas party, and it changed things.” 

“We met at your work Christmas party,” Mordred says, addressing Arthur. 

“Yes,” Arthur replies, although he’s mostly still focused on where Merlin’s thumb is rubbing against his hand. “But, then you cheated on me, and now you’re getting married, so what does it really matter. Does Kara know what you did to us?” 

“She knows, I wanted to be upfront to her about it.” 

“Ah, so you got your lying and cheating out on us, before you decided to go straight. Pardon the pun.” 

Mordred visibly winces, and Merlin squeezes his hand. Arthur knows it’s a low blow but Mordred had always said he was gay. The shock of him marrying a woman he’s only known for six months hasn’t quite worn off. 

“I’m bi. I always thought I was gay until I met Kara.” 

“It’s just a bit of a shock is all,” Merlin steps in before Arthur can say anything to make the situation worse, somehow. 

“Kind of like the shock of seeing you two together. What the hell are you playing at?” 

Merlin stiffens next to him. He squeezes Arthur’s hand again for a different reason. 

“What the hell does that mean?” Merlin asks, coldly. 

“Just,” Mordred pauses. “There’s no possible way you two are _actually_ going out, right?” 

Arthur is up on his feet before he even realizes. 

“What the fuck does that mean? You cheat on both of us, then you invite us to your wedding, what exactly was the point?” 

“I thought maybe we could be adults about this-” 

“Adults! You’re getting married and you’re pissy that we’re in a loving relationship.” 

Mordred snorts. “ _Relationship,_ ” he says in a fucking tone, and Arthur does not appreciate it one bit. “Please, a rich, arrogant fucking prat and a poor nerd with a saviour complex only matched by your ego? A match made in hell.” 

Arthur rears back to deliver a hell of a punch, only to be held back by Merlin, who has now also risen to his feet. Arthur is suddenly aware that everyone, including all the staff, are staring at the three of them. He lowers his fist. 

“If you were looking for absolution, you’re not getting it from us. You can’t just hurt two people and then decide that you should be forgiven when the weight of your bad decisions catches up with you.” 

“He’s not even worth it, let’s go.” Arthur goes to reach for Merlin’s hand when Mordred decides to open his big mouth one last time. 

“Don’t forget, Pendragon, I’ll always have fucked him first.” 

This time, Merlin isn’t quick enough. Or maybe he decides to let it happen. Arthur rears back quick as a flash and punches Mordred square in the face. He doubles over, hands cupping his nose which is seeping blood, and dripping onto the floor. 

“Don’t you fucking talk about him like that. Merlin is the most kind and beautiful person I’ve ever met. He is the only good thing I got out of being with you. He is worth ten of you and you are nothing, do you hear me?” 

“Arthur, come on, let’s go.” 

Arthur is pretty certain staff is about to call security on them, so getting out seems like a great idea. Merlin drags him away, briefly stopping next to Kara to say “good luck with that one,” before continuing to pull him out of the bar. They make it all the way to the elevator, walking so fast it's nearly a run. Arthur’s heart is beating so fast, he’s sure it’s audible. He finally is able to take a deep breath and try to stop the rapid beat of his heart when the elevator doors close. 

“Did you mean all of that?” 

“Hm?” 

“What you said back there, about me.” 

Arthur nods. “You know, part way through this night I realized I don’t really give a fuck about Mordred at all, I just wanted to have fun with you at this wedding. Although, I guess the wedding part is out.” 

“We can still have fun, though,” Merlin says with an enticing quirk of his eyebrow. 

Arthur is on him in a second, pushing him bodily against the glass wall of the elevator and pressing their lips together firmly, the adrenaline of the punch still coursing through him. 

Merlin breaks away to say something, and Arthur attaches his lips to Merlin’s neck, sucking and biting right at the sensitive skin below his ear. 

“I know I shouldn’t be encouraging your possessive caveman behaviour, but the punch was kind of hot.” 

“It wasn’t a jealousy thing,” Arthur barely pulls away to pant out, his lips brushing Merlin’s skin. “I don’t care that he got there first, I care that he acted like that’s all that mattered. As if you aren’t the most important person in my life.” 

“Jesus, come here,” Merlin hauls Arthur back in by the lapels on his jacket. Merlin is doing an impressive move with his tongue when reality sets back in. The elevator dings. They pull apart to find an elderly couple standing outside the open elevator doors staring at them. 

Arthur clears his throat. “Is this floor twenty?” 

The old man nods. 

“Then I guess this is where we, ah, get off. So to speak. Have a lovely evening.” Arthur drags Merlin off the elevator by his arm. They’re barely stopping their laughter from bubbling over, Merlin is nearly choking with it. 

“We’re idiots,” Arthur says, once they’ve begun their stumble down the hall towards their room. 

“Definitely. I think we’ve actually been dating the last year without even realizing it.” 

“I think you’re right. But, I think I’m ready to make it official.” 

Arthur watches as Merlin smiles, and he really should have learned his lesson from the elevator, but he can’t help it. He drags Merlin in and kisses him soundly in the middle of the hotel hallway. 

Merlin pulls back, his smile even wider now. “We should probably wait until we make it back to the hotel room. We wouldn’t want to scar any more hotel guests.” 

* 

Arthur’s never had so much sex in his life. A night of aggressive and pent up fucking leads to a morning of slow, emotional love making, which leads to an afternoon of lazy sex in which he laughs and just generally enjoys himself more than he ever has during sex before. They order all three meals through room service and eat naked on their bed. Arthur feeds Merlin by hand, shivering when Merlin’s tongue brushes his fingers. There’s a brief few moments of panic when Morgana calls him and he has to pretend like he isn’t in some sort of weird hotel room sex den. He explains what went down and pulls the phone away from his ear when Morgana shrieks _FINALLY_ into the phone. Merlin just laughs. 

In the evening, Merlin falls asleep, and Arthur watches the slow rise and fall of his chest as he breathes. Merlin is his best friend, and now he’s his boyfriend and nothing has ever felt so right. Maybe he’ll send Mordred a gift basket, or something. He wonders if they make something that says “not sorry you’re an asshole, but thank you for inadvertently introducing me to my current boyfriend.” His eyes feel heavy and he begins to nod off, tucked around Merlin. He’ll look into it in the morning. 


End file.
